The Puny Dragon
by chibigirl121
Summary: A:TLA version of The Ugly Duckling


**Disclaimer:****I own nothing.**

**A/N: An ATLA version of the Ugly Duckling, because Zuko really is like the ugly duckling (thank you wikipedia).**

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The Puny Dragon

The moment the little dragon hatched, he instantly knew he was different. Unlike his sister, who had hatched hours after he did, he could not breathe fire right away or fly steadily like she did. Unlike his sister, he was a common red. His sister was a beautiful blue, an auspicious sign, matched with an azure flame.

The red dragon watched from a lonely corner of the cave as his father fawned over his younger sister. His mother watched on fondly, barely paying her son any attention.

The next few months only showed how weak and useless the red dragon really was. While his sister grew twice in size, he remained small and grew little. While his sister had her first kill, he was still struggling over how to pounce. While his sister flourished through the air, he floundered and barely rose a few feet off the ground.

During those months, his father had never been more disappointed. The runt was tossed from the mountain and sent tumbling down its treacherous slopes.

The runt whimpered and yelped, every rock digging into his side as he descended farther down the mountain, drifting farther and farther from the place that was once his home.

Finally, the runt hit the bottom of the slopes and slipped into unconsciousness. When he woke again, his whole body ached. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, his wing hung limp at his side.

Painfully, he pushed himself up and half limped half crawled away from the mountain. He wandered deeper and deeper into the forest, unsure of what to do next.

He wondered faintly how he was going to survive, how he was going to find food, and how long he would last. He tried several times to catch something to eat but failed at every chance he got. He couldn't find water and his body was beginning to numb.

At last, after three days of wandering, he collapsed. He faded in and out of consciousness, wishing for the gods to end his suffering.

Then, he heard faint sounds of leaves rustling. He saw a baby badgermole tumble out of the bushes through blurred vision.

The badgermole slowly moved towards the dragon. She circled around the fallen dragon, sniffing as she went. When she finally reached his head again, she gently licked his muzzle before dashing off back into the forest.

The runt whimpered weakly. It hurt; it hurt so much.

Then, the badgermole returned back to the dragon. Behind her followed a sky bison, a turtleduckling, and a flying lemur.

The turtleduckling cheeped loudly at the sight of the dragon. The lemur chattered loudly as he landed on the bison's head, shaking its head. The badgermole growled back at her companions in protest.

The bison shuffled over to the dragon and sniffed him. Then, he huffed and turned around. He pushed his tail under the dragon and half dragged/half carried the wounded animal.

The turtleduckling and lemur protested to the bison but were ignored. The badgermole gave them a satisfied snort and followed after the bison.

The dragon continued to fade in and out of consciousness, faintly trying to remember if sky bison ate meat or not.

Finally, the bison came to a small lake. The lake spread out under a waterfall that tumbled off a cliff. The bison dragged the injured animal and positioned him sideways, lining its body horizontally in front of the lake.

The bison grunted towards the badgermole. They gently pushed the dragon into the pool. The dragon felt himself drifting down to the bottom of the pool. Just when he thought he was going to die from drowning, he saw out of the corner of his eye two koi, one black with a white spot on its head and one white with a black spot, who swam towards him.

The koi began circled around the dragon. The dragon saw a bright light encompass his body. The pain from his wounds soon began to subside. When the light faded away and the koi swam back into the inky blackness of the lake, the dragon twisted through the water and burst to the surface.

He coughed lightly, resting his body on the shore. A shadow towered over him and he looked up. The bison looked down at him questioningly while the badgermole stood next to it.

The dragon growled in fear and uncertainty. The bison and badgermole backed away from the dragon instinctively. Seeing his chance, the dragon dashed past the bison and badgermole into the forest behind them. He could hear them calling after him faintly but didn't stop.

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For the next week, the dragon scavenged for food since he could not hunt due to his small and weak build. He lived on unfortunate elephant rats and fish he managed to catch on occasion.

One day, while hunting, he heard noises of other animals. He immediately dashed into some nearby bushed and watched from there. He saw the turtleduckling and lemur come out into the open.

Both animals seemed to be bickering from the large amount of peeps and chatters that came from them. Just as the dragon was about to slip away, he saw a bush on the other side rustle slightly.

Then, a blue blur burst out of the bushes, surrounding the turtleduck and lemur. The lemur attempted to take to the skies but was batted roughly back to the ground.

The dragon's sister towered over the small animals, growling in pleasure at her would be dinner. The turtleduck began frantically peeping in hopes one of her powerful friends would come and save them. The lemur chattered fearfully as stared at the azure dragon's razor sharp teeth. The azure dragon opened her mouth, intent on roast duck and lemur.

Without a second thought, the red dragon dashed out of the bushes and rammed into his sister with full force. His sister let out a startled grunt and crashed to the ground. In the blink of an eye, the blue dragon grabbed the turtleduckling and lemur and ran away from the clearing.

The turtleduckling and lemur began making a racket. The red dragon growled at them and then they fell silent. The dragon spotted a small hole in a tree and dashed inside. He heard his sister run past, snarling up a storm, and disappear into the forest.

When he finally decided that it was safe, he came out of the tree. He carefully placed the turtleduckling and lemur down and backed away to a respectable distance. The duckling and lemur eyed the dragon warily, and then they voiced their gratitude towards him.

They looked around them and discovered, to their annoyance, that they were in an unknown part of the forest. When the dragon saw the two look around in confusion, he assumed that they had no idea how to get back to the lake.

He carefully picked them up again and went back the way he came. At last, he reached the small lake with the bison and badgermole. The duckling and lemur rejoiced and ran to the bison, relieved to be back. The lemur screeched about their adventures to the bison.

The dragon stared at the happy sight and made to disappear back into the forest. The badgermole ran up to him and grabbed onto his tail. She tugged at it and motioned to her friends.

The bison motioned for him to join them. The dragon hesitated and glanced back at the forest. The turtleduckling and lemur also called for him to join them. Finally, the dragon walked back towards the odd group of animals. He had finally found a place to call home.

For the next few weeks, the dragon slowly made himself at home. He and his friends slept in a cave that was hidden behind the waterfalls. His badgermole friend took him deeper into the cave where she showed him how to hunt for wolfbats.

The bison, turtleduckling, and lemur helped teach the drgon how to fly. The lemur and duckling urged him on with rough shoves while the bison gave him a little nudge every now and then. Soon, the dragon was able to flourish in the sky, like his sister so long ago.

Soon, summer turned to fall which, in turn, changed to early winter. At this time, the turtleducks began their journey south. The turtleduckling had grown into a turtleduck during the passing months. She was the first to leave.

Then, the bison and the lemur made their journey back to the mountains. Both had spent their day's eating and preparing for their long journey back. They promised the badgermole and the dragon that they would return in the spring.

Finally, the badgermole disappeared deep into the earth for hibernation. She had also spent many weeks eating and accumulating energy for the long months of hibernation to follow.

Only the dragon was left. When the first snow fell, the dragon was sitting in front of the pond and keeping the koi company. One week later, the lake had frozen over and even the fish were gone. The dragon retreated back to into the hidden cave.

Unlike turtleducks, dragons do not go south for the winter. Unlike lemurs and bisons, dragons do not need to migrate to the mountains. Unlike badgermoles, dragons did not need to hibernate deep into the earth. Instead, the dragon went into a long slumber for the months of winter.

The cracking of ice welcomed the coming of spring. The lake unfroze and the koi were the first to return. A week later, the turtleducks returned back from the south. The lemurs and bison returned back from the mountains. The badgermole emerged from deep within the earth.

They friends each greeted each other in front of the pond. They had checked up on their scaly friend, only to see him still sleeping, and were patiently waiting for him to wake up. None of them wanted to have a grumpy dragon at their reunion.

Suddenly, blue flames rained down from the sky. The badgermole erected a stone walls oaround her friends and the bison blew away the shots with his tail. A blue dragon landed in front of them and growled.

The dragon's sister had matured a great deal during the winter period. She had grown in size, now more than half the size of the bison. She was lean and wiry, a body made for speed and agility. She had woken from her winter slumber hungry. She opened her jaws wide and prepared a large ball of blue flames, intent on killing them all in one shot.

The red dragon burst out of the waterfall and tackled his sister to the ground. They fell into a mass of snarling teeth and claws. When they separated, the blue dragon saw that she was not the only one who had grown.

The red dragon was no longer a runt. He was now just slightly larger than the bison. During the months before winter, he had gained bulk in muscle. His body had scars here and there from fighting wolfbats in the caves. His arms, legs, and wings grew powerful from practicing how to fly.

The dragon shot flames into the sky to warn off his sister. The once red flame now held colors of the rainbow, a flame more powerful than the blue flame. The blue dragon snarled as she backed away. Begrudgingly, she took of to the sky and left her brother and his friends.

The dragon huffed in satisfaction and turned back to his friends. Everyone rushed up to him, welcoming him back from his slumber and thanking him for saving them. The dragon merely rumbled happily, perfectly content with just being loved and acknowledged.

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**A/N: Please leave reviews!**


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